Weiqi Chang v. Eric Holder, Jr. ( 2011 )

FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION AUG 8 2011
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
WEIQI CHANG, No. 10-73028
Petitioner, Agency No. A099-732-454
v.
MEMORANDUM *
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted August 2, 2011 **
Before: RYMER, IKUTA, and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
Weiqi Chang, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of the Board
of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s
denial of his motion to reopen removal proceedings held in absentia. We have
jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for abuse of discretion the denial of
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
a motion to reopen, Mohammed v. Gonzales, 400 F.3d 785, 791 (9th Cir. 2005),
and we deny the petition for review.
The agency did not abuse its discretion by denying Chang’s motion to
reopen where Chang failed to establish that exceptional circumstances excused his
failure to appear at his hearing. See 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(e)(1) (defining exceptional
circumstances as circumstances beyond the control of the alien); cf. Singh-Bhathal
v. INS, 170 F.3d 943, 946-47 (9th Cir. 1999).
Chang’s contentions that the agency violated this Court’s precedent as well
as its own are unavailing.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
2 10-73028